From Lateef Taiwo
The FCT Joint Taskforce on City Sanitation has uncovered pickpockets hotspots under some bridges and subways within Central Business District (CBD), Maitama and Wise Districts of the nation’s capital.
The team stormed and raided subways and bridges around the three Arms zone, especially roads connecting Women Affairs Ministry, Police headquarters, Court of Appeal and Federal Secretariat.
It also raided tunnels and green areas beside Abia House, connecting to River Plate Park through to National Mosque and Yar’Adua center, including Millennium and Chescon Parks, in Maitama, and Wuse, where informal activities are taking place, side by side with people of questionable characters living under the facilities.
Coordinator of the Taskforce, Mukhtar Galadima, who led the operation, said it was pursuant to the directive of the FCT Minister, following complaints from residents in the city alleging the misuse and abuse of such facilities.
Galadima, who doubles as the Director, FCT Department of Development Control, described the sanitary condition within and around the affected facilities as very disturbing, which calls for immediate drastic measures to mitigate.
He said: “The honourable FCT Minister directed that we should take necessary action, and today we are a fact-finding mission, to know what is really happening under the bridges and subways. From today, we can come out with our plan of action on the next step to be taken.
“With what we have seen today, it is really unfortunate that these things are happening in the city, where informal activities are taken place under the bridges and subways, as well as people of questionable characters are living there. We met some under 10 years kids under one the bridges.
“Considering the issues of security and looking at the these people residing under the bridges, it is of great concern to the FCT Administration, and we will not lay it low as we have to take it up immediately.
“We have to step up our action on combing and monitoring these facilities and activities taken place there.”
Also speaking, Secretary, Command and Control Centre, of the FCT Security Services Department, Dr. Peter Olumuji, recalled that residents of the capital city have been raising concern on how whenever they traverse those locations criminal elements coming out from the bushes, snatching their phone and bags, robbing them of their valuables even in their cars when they don’t wind up. Immediately they do this, they run into the bridges to hibernate.
“That is why we have decided to come and profile the canals and bridges within the capital cities, and what we have seen is so disturbing.
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